RIGHTS OF THE MA'MUM

All praises and thanks are due and belong to Allah, and may His mercies and blessings be upon the last Prophet Muhammad, his family and all companions.

Al-Ma’mum in Islamic Jurisprudence refers to the follower of imam in salaat(prayers). This type of salaat is the obligatory salaat or the optional prayers of taraweeh for example, where there are emphasis of observing them in congregations in the places where the call to prayers are made (mosques).

A ma’mum (or ma’mumeen-plural) that follow(s) Imam enjoy(s) certain rights upon the imam. The following will lay bare some of these rights:

1-To be reminded by the imam to straighten up their lines. It was an established Sunnah of the holy prophet Muhammad (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that he will remind those following him in prayers to straighten up their lines and rows as reported by Anas (may Allah be please with him) that the Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Straighten your rows and come close together, for indeed I see you behind my back". ( reported by Al-Bukhari ).

2-To be given time by the imam for him to recite the tasbeeh of rukuu’ , sujud and the other azkaar (supplications) in salaat such as the supplication between the two prostrations.

3- The imam must make his pace moderate to suit all ma’mumeen (followers) of all ages. The Imam must consider the fact that some of the participants in the Jama'at may be weak or aged, and as such, he should avoid lengthy Surahs and very long bowing and prostrations beyond necessity. In a hadith reported by Abu Mas’ud(may Allah be pleased with him) that: “A man came to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and said, “Indeed, I am late to the morning prayer only because so-and-so prays for so long when he leads us.” Abu Mas’ud said: I have never seen the Messenger of Allah as angry as he was in his preaching on that day. He said, “O people! Verily, there are some of you who make people flee. Beware, for whoever among you leads the people in prayer should not prolong it because among them are the sick, the elderly, and the needy.” (al-Bukhari)

4-The right to hear the voice of the imam. In those Salat in which the Surahs are to be read aloud (Salat al-Fajr, Maghrib and 'Isha), the Imam is expected to raise his voice so as to become reasonably audible (heard by the followers). The same applies to the prayers that are offered silently with regards to the saying of “Allahu Akbar” for moving from one posture to another.